Purchasing B2B article about the findings of the 2015 SCMA Salary Survey

While recent economic news both internationally and here in Canada has certainly been mixed, it appears that overall supply chain salaries have bounced back from a dip last year.

But that overall rise hasn’t meant an increase for PurchasingB2B readers, who in fact saw a drop in how much they made over 2014. And while women took home more this time around than last year, the increase was less than what men saw, resulting in an even greater gap between the sexes.

That’s according to the results of the 2015 Annual Survey of the Canadian Supply Chain Professional. PurchasingB2B conducts the survey each year along with MM&D and Canadian Shipper magazines, as well as the Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA).

According to our 2015 survey, the mean salary for Canadian supply chain professionals hit $92,182. That’s a sizeable jump from the 2014 average of $86,987 and represents a six-percent increase over last year. For PurchasingB2B readers the mean salary is $78,637, or 14 percent lower than the survey’s overall average.

Overall, a total of 60 percent reported that their salary had increased this year, while 34 percent noted that it had stayed the same. Fortunately, only five percent said that they had seen a decrease in their salary over the past year. Among PurchasingB2B readers, a total of 55 percent saw an increase, while only two percent saw their salaries drop. Another 41 percent saw no change in their salary as compared to 2014.

The majority of our readers (44 percent) also saw a salary increase in the “two percent or less” range, which is more than the survey’s overall average of 34 percent. Another 40 percent of PurchasingB2B readers saw an increase of between 2.1 and four percent, while 10 percent of the magazine’s respondents got an increase of 10.1 percent or greater. Looking towards 2016, 44 percent of readers anticipate an increase of between 4.1 and six percent.

Salary breakdown by region
Across the board, each region of Canada received an increase in their mean salary. That differs from last year’s results, which saw several regions experience either nominal increases or a decrease.

Once again, Albertans took home the largest salaries, with the average at $104,392—an increase of 6.4 percent over last year. In 2014, Alberta saw a 4.7-percent dip in the average to 98,109—the first decrease for the province since the survey began.

Ontario and BC came in with the next highest averages, at $90,809 and $87,587 respectively. Up next was Quebec with $84,763 — up five percent from $80,580 in 2014 — and Manitoba/Saskatchewan with a five-percent increase as well, at $84,342.

Interestingly, Atlantic Canada saw a sizeable jump from $72,279 in 2014 to $80,930. That’s an increase of 12-percent for a region that had seen its average salary drop each year since 2012.

Gender
In 2015, the average salary for women climbed to $83,381—up 5.7 percent from last year’s average of $78,819. By comparison, men pulled down $97,945 on average, which is up from $92,276 last year by six percent. As well, compared to the overall average, female readers of PurchasingB2B earned significantly less, at $65,334. Their male counterparts did better at $86,425.

Not surprisingly, the length of time spent in the field boosted salaries for both men and women. For example, women with 31 or more years of experience earned $97,894 on average, an amount that drops to $94,533 for those with more than 35 years’ experience. For men, the average salary hit $117,093 after 31 years of experience then drops to $114,074 for those with 35 or more years of experience.

Salary by industry
Not surprisingly, what kind of organization you work for—and how big that company is—affects how much you make. The highest average ($109,450) went to companies with annual revenues of over $1 billion. That’s followed by organizations with revenues between $51 million and $1 billion.

Despite recent turmoil in the energy industry, the natural resources sector was the only one to weigh in above the overall average. Supply chain professionals in that sector took home $104,231. At $91,889, the service sector was second highest, followed by healthcare at $90,996. Companies with the most employees also saw the highest salaries. Organizations with more than 500 employees saw an average of $98,916, followed by those with between 100 and 499 workers ($86,511) and under 100 ($83,853).

Salary by city
Not surprisingly, the city in which someone lives and works also makes a difference to their salary. For PurchasingB2B readers, by far, living in Edmonton means the highest pay. The average salary in that city for our readers is $144,200. The next highest-paying metropolitan region is Ottawa-Gatineau at $124,500, followed by Sudbury at $97,000.

The next three highest paying cities are Quebec City ($96,000), Saskatoon ($92,000) and Halifax ($87,500). The Greater Toronto Area/Brampton/Oakville region came in at $80,968.

Salary and education
Overall, respondents with an MBA degree earned the most, with the mean salary for that group coming in at $109,994. Those with a master’s degree also did well, with an average salary of $102,994. A university degree of any sort means an average salary of $92,253, while even some university education gave respondents a salary of $94,253. The average salary for those with a trade or technical diploma is $91,614.

In past surveys, those who have earned their SCMP designation tend to report salaries that are higher than the average, and this year holds to that rule. Respondents with the designation reported earning $100,714, while those without the designation took home $89,810. Interesting to note: those who were in the process of obtaining their SCMP had the lowest average salary, at $76,249. PurchasingB2B readers who have earned the designation reported a salary of $103,238, which is higher than the overall average.

Employee profile
The amount of money an employee makes tends to accumulate along with experience, and supply chain is no exception. Overall, respondents with 30-35 years of experience earned the most, at $107,823. The picture was a bit different for PurchasingB2B readers, among whom those with 15-20 years’ experience earned the most, at $97,142.

Hard work can pay off, and those who worked the most hours also got paid the highest. Those who worked more than 50 hours earned an average of $112,739 or, in the case of PurchasingB2B readers, $102,993. Those working a slightly less busy week—from 46 to 50 hours—pulled in $108,938. On average, if you put in the typical 40-hour workweek you earned $84,532 ($76,772 for PurchasingB2B readers).

Age is also a factor that can affect compensation. The 56 to 65-year-old crowd was the highest paid, averaging $105,499 overall, an eight-percent jump from last year’s $97,591. PurchasingB2B readers in this age group averaged even higher, at $108,499. Notably, those 46 to 55 saw an 8.4-percent increase to $98,632, while the youngest cohort—the under 25 group—got hit with a drop from $64,517 in 2014 to this year’s $57,062.

Position type
How much people made in supply chain over the past year depended in large amount on what position they held. Not surprisingly, those at the executive level took home the most, with an average of $148,571 (among PurchasingB2B readers the number was $142,400). Managers and consultants also did well, with those positions earning an average of $105,122 and $104,880 respectively.

All other job titles fell below the national average, with supervisors coming the closest at $91,808. In fifth place was the engineering/professional title, at $80,368.

Job satisfaction
As the survey focuses largely on salary, and it’s no surprise that a competitive salary ranked high among respondents in terms of defining their job satisfaction. Almost all respondents (99 percent) noted that a competitive salary was “very important” to their job satisfaction. Of those, 71 percent said it was “very important,” while 28 percent noted that it was “somewhat important.” Among PurchasingB2B readers, the results were similar, with 66 percent considering a competitive salary “very important” while 32 percent said that it was “somewhat important.”

While almost all respondents said that a competitive salary was important, 74 percent said that they were satisfied with what they made. Among those, 19 percent said they were “very satisfied,” while 55 percent answered that they were “somewhat satisfied.” A total of 20 percent said they were “not very satisfied” and a remaining six percent were “not at all satisfied.”

At 75 percent, the majority of survey respondents also considered a healthy work/life balance to be “very important” to overall job satisfaction. Another 23 percent considered that balance to be “somewhat important.” For PurchasingB2B readers, 65 considered that balance to be “very important” and 27 thought it was “somewhat important.” Another seven percent said that it was not “very important.”

Forty eight percent noted they were “somewhat satisfied” and another 11 percent were “not very satisfied” with that balance. Meanwhile, 86 percent said they were “satisfied,” and 38 percent noted they were “very satisfied.”

BDO has extensive experience working with a range of clients in the traditional and emerging areas of distribution, providing us with firsthand knowledge of trends and insights. We understand your business. Our international network of industry professionals has a wide range of financial and advisory expertise to support your changing needs.

As the leading and largest association in Canada for professionals in supply chain management, the Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA) is the national voice for advancing and promoting the profession. SCMA strives to ensure that employers recognize the critical contribution that SCM professionals make to the success of their organizations. SCMA sets the standard of excellence for professional skills, knowledge and integrity. With nearly 8000 members working across the private and public sectors, SCMA is the principal source of supply chain training, education and professional development in the country.